South Africa’s energy sustainability has decreased, weighed down by a sharp drop in energy security, the World Energy Council’s (WEC’s) 2012 World Energy Trilemma report has shown.

by a decline in the wholesale margin on liquid fuel and weak performance on the diversification of electricity production, South Africa’s ailing energy security resulted in it falling two places to 57 on the 2012 Energy Sustainability Index, published in the report.

The index indicates that South Africa struggles with environmental indicators and has a high level of energy intensity per capita.

South African National Energy Association and WEC Studies Portfolio chairperson Brian Statham said South Africa’s intention to introduce more renewables into the energy mix through the independent power producer (IPP) programme would only reflect in the index once these projects were operational.

Also, the latest census results reflecting an increase in the number of homes with access to commercial energy had been too late for consideration in the WEC study.

“We cannot be complacent since we are below the midpoint on all the energy dimensions. Crucial decisions on future energy supply must be made within the next few months if we are not to slip further down the scale.”

The 2012 Energy Sustainability Index indicated that most countries had still not managed to balance the so-called energy trilemma of security, social equity and environmental impact mitigation.

The WEC argued that countries had to balance the trade-offs between the three challenges if they were to provide sustainable energy systems.

The index further revealed various persisting challenges, including environmental impact mitigation, providing high-quality and affordable energy access in developing and emerging economies, while countries at various stages of development were still struggling with energy security.

The top ten performing countries in the WEC index were Sweden, Switzerland, Canada, Norway, Finland, New Zealand, Denmark, Japan, France and Austria.

WEC chairperson Pierre Gadonneix said the message of the Energy Sustainability Index was that all countries were facing challenges in their transition towards more secure, environmentally friendly and equit-able energy systems.

“What makes the difference is how they set their final goals, how they balance market economics and public policies, and how they design the smartest policies to promote efficiency and to optimise costs, resources and investments over the long term,” he noted.

World Energy Trilemma report executive chairperson Joan MacNaughton indicated that although a lot still had to be done to make energy systems sustainable, there was good news.

“While these top performers also tend to be richer countries, some less affluent ones also outperform their economic peers. What distinguishes all these countries from the others is that they have more effective and coherent policies.”

artner at global consulting firm Oliver Wyman, which compiled the index with the WEC, pointed out that businesses must be assured that the economics of their investments would not be destroyed by changes in energy policy, as governments weighed up their countries’ priorities.

“This policy risk is a key factor holding back energy investments today. Therefore, govern- ment and industry must engage in active dialogue about structuring policies that remain stable over time and are joined up with other policies,” he stated.